Technical

Trim

Wheels

The vehicle information above was correct at time of manufacture. Please speak to the dealership for full current specification.

Technical specification

Electric Vehicle Data

Battery Capacity in kWh

7.1

Battery Charge Slow kW

2.4

Battery Charge Slow Percentage

0-80

Battery Charge Slow Time (Minutes)

180

Battery Charge Fast kW

3.7

Battery Charge Fast Percentage

0-80

Battery Charge Fast Time (Minutes)

120

Battery Type

Lithium-ion

Coupler/Connector Type

Type 2

NEDC Electricity Consumption kWh/100 km

11.9

NEDC Maximum EV Range Miles

23

Standard manufacturers Battery warranty - Mileage

100000

Standard manufacturers Battery warranty - Years

8

Emissions

CO2 (g/km)

49

Standard Euro Emissions

EURO 6

Engine and Drive Train

Camshaft

DOHC

Catalytic Convertor

True

CC

1499

Compression Ratio

9.5:1

Cylinder Layout

IN-LINE

Cylinders

3

Cylinders - Bore (mm)

82

Cylinders - Stroke (mm)

94.6

Engine Code

B38K15T0

Engine Layout

REAR TRANSVERSE

Fuel Delivery

TWIN TURBO

Gears

6 SPEED

Number of Valves

12

Transmission

AUTO

Fuel Consumption

EC Combined (mpg)

134.5

EC Directive 1999/100/EC Applies

True

General

Badge Engine CC

1.5

Badge Power

362

Insurance Group 1 - 50 Effective January 07

50E

Service Interval Frequency - Months

24

Service Interval Mileage

18000

Standard manufacturers warranty - Mileage

999999

Standard manufacturers warranty - Years

3

Vehicle Homologation Class

M1

Performance

0 to 62 mph (secs)

4.4

Engine Power - BHP

362

Engine Power - KW

266

Engine Power - PS

True

Engine Power - RPM

5800

Engine Torque - LBS.FT

420

Engine Torque - MKG

58.1

Engine Torque - NM

570

Engine Torque - RPM

3700

Top Speed

155

Tyres

Alloys?

True

Tyre Size Front

195/50 R20

Tyre Size Rear

215/45 R20

Tyre Size Spare

TYRE REPAIR KIT

Wheel Style

TURBINE SPOKE STYLE 444

Wheel Type

20" ALLOY

Vehicle Dimensions

Height

1297

Length

4689

Wheelbase

2800

Width

1942

Width (including mirrors)

2218

Weight and Capacities

Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres)

42

Gross Vehicle Weight

1870

Luggage Capacity (Seats Up)

154

Max. Loading Weight

385

Minimum Kerbweight

1485

No. of Seats

4

Turning Circle - Kerb to Kerb

12.3

The vehicle information above was correct at time of manufacture. Please speak to the dealership for full current specification.

Independent review

Review courtesy of Car and Driving

BMW i8

It's been a long time coming, but BMW's vision of the future sports car has finally landed. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the dizzying i8.

Ten Second Review

The BMW i8 is a hybrid supercar capable of delivering a 357bhp punch if provoked. Alternatively, it can glide noiselessly along on pure electric power. The 135mpg quoted fuel economy figure needs taking with a grain of salt but if you wanted a vision of the future of sports cars, you're looking at it right here.

Background

It was getting to be a bit of a fixture at motor shows. We'd seen BMW's i8 concept car so many times that many were worried the future would have been and gone by the time it materialised in dealers. While we might have become used to its fluid shape, the hybrid technology that powers it is something that will take a long time to sink in. This really is a new thing; a paradigm shift in sports car development. Here's a car that makes existing petrol-powered coupes look about as cutting edge as a video cassette recorder.
We'd hoped for a lot from the i8 and the hugely impressive i3 hatch had clued us in to the fact that however much we'd hoped for, BMW was set to under-promise and over-deliver. Here's proof that 1.5-litres of internal combustion and a battery pack deserves to be taken extremely seriously.

Driving Experience

Let's cut to the chase with the performance numbers. That 1498cc three-cylinder mid-mounted engine drives the back wheels and a 96kW electric motor takes care of the fronts, endowing the 1485kg i8 with some serious pep. It'll fizz from zero to 62mph in just 4.4 seconds and keep going to an electronically limited 155mph, which makes it quicker than a V8-engined Audi R8 off the mark. As you might expect, the i8 has a number of tricks up its sleeve. In eDRive mode, it's a front-wheel drive electrically powered vehicle with a claimed range of 23 miles. This mode delivers a peak power output of 129bhp and a top speed of 75mph.
Select Comfort mode and the i8 is a plug-in hybrid with a range of up to 310 miles. Choose Sport mode by slotting a small lever from 'D' to 'S' and the i8 goes feral, the petrol engine and motor double-teaming to really bring the excitement. In this mode you get a combined 357bhp and a massive 570Nm of torque. The damping will tighten, the power assistance for the steering will taper off and the software will juggle the torque split for maximum entertainment. There'll be some artificial noise piped into the cabin but it should sound good. The six-speed 'automatic transmission has been chosen over the ZF eight-speeder to save weight but it's a good unit. The calibration of the braking between regenerative and mechanical is something many manufacturers should benchmark. The i8's centre of gravity is admirably low, but the 215/45 R20 front tyres have been chosen as much for their green credentials as anything else and will be the first thing to lapse into gentle understeer if you manhandle the car. Wider tyres are optionally available as long as you don't mind a small economy trade off. Keen drivers should certainly tick that box.

Design and Build

The i8 looks like no other car. It's sleek, clean in its detailing and features beetle-wing upwards opening doors. I can't think of another rival in its price bracket that offers quite so much visual drama. Given that you could easily blow £100k on a Porsche 911 Carrera, the BMW moves the game on. Suddenly Audi's R8, a car that once looked so bold, looks a bit under-baked. The rear end is particularly unusual, with no visible exhausts and what looks to be the tail of a Porsche 911 being enveloped by the i8's plastic bodywork. Once you see it, you won't be able to forget that one.
The i8 keeps its weight so low thanks to a body that's a mix of carbon fibre and aluminium. The chassis is aluminium and the upper 'Life' passenger cell is carbon but BMW hasn't gone all race-tech and stripped-out. There are small rear seats and even if you hid the badges, the smooth sweep of the dashboard and the excellent ergonomics clearly bear Munich's mark. The dash is an LED virtual screen with another display popping up from the dash roll top. It's very nicely executed but surprisingly, not as adventurous as the humbler i3 hatch. Practicalities include a 42-litre fuel tank, a 12.3 metres turning circle and a rather puny 154-litre boot.

Market and Model

BMW quotes a list price of around £100,000 for the i8 and whether or not that strikes you as a bargain very much depends on what you want the car to do. If you want it to rip up mountain switchbacks like a 911 GT3, you're going to be a bit disappointed. The i8 isn't that sort of hooligan. If, on the other hand, you appreciate the technology, its straight line urge and the amazing feeling of rolling along in pure electric mode, then the futuristic styling and sheer presence of the i8 makes it seem a veritable bargain.
As much as I love taking a car by the scruff of the neck and detest the typical supercar poseur, I find myself warming to the i8. There's a cerebral quality to it that's missing from so many thud and blunder supercars. What are you really going to compare it with? Only Tesla's Model S really gets close and that's more of a luxury saloon.

Cost of Ownership

The running costs of the BMW i8 are going to be tough to gauge. The quoted fuel economy figure of 135mpg is clearly a nonsense, but it's not BMW's fault, instead being due to a shortcoming of the NEDC test which doesn't really cater for hybrid vehicles at all well. And how do you measure the economy in any case? After all, this is a vehicle you can plug in to a wall socket and charge to 80 per cent capacity in less than two hours. If you had a ten mile journey to work each day, you'd never put any fuel into it. According to the NEDC test, that would make the i8 capable of an infinite number of miles per gallon. The 49g/km emissions figure also means that you won't have to worry about buying road tax or, if you're lucky enough to get one on the firm, the benefit in kind taxation will be pleasantly low.
Residual values are similarly tough to calculate. That's largely because this technology moves quickly. The i8 might be a jaw-dropping feat of engineering today, but in three or five years time, the game may have moved on. Working in its favour is that many owners of supercars just don't care. They want the latest and greatest and for many, the i8 is going to represent just that.

Summary

The BMW i8 is an utterly fascinating vehicle. There's no doubt that this technology affords us a vision of the future. It already makes many of its more conventional rivals look positively quaint. Where the i8 is even more special is in the way that it normalises this brain-bending complexity. It's beautifully-finished and comes with a warranty just like any other BMW product. It doesn't impose itself on you.
Yes, it's fearsomely fast in a straight line but the i8 is no B-road brawler. That model may well come and it will probably come from BMW, but here's something that's a bit more refined and looks set to change the way we think about this sort of car. You might not have ever believed that a car with a 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine could command a six-figure price tag. The i8 does that yet still seems a bargain. It's an incredible achievement.

Performance

80%

Handling

80%

Comfort

70%

Space

60%

Styling

90%

Build

90%

Value

60%

Equipment

70%

Economy

100%

Depreciation

80%

Insurance

60%

* This vehicle is affected by the new 2017 road tax rules. Find out more